Sermon on Ruth 2:12



SHELTER UNDER THE WINGS OF GOD.

Ruth 2 : 12

Sermon by:

Rev. B. de Graaf

PUBLISHED BY

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

OF THE

FREE REFORMED CHURCHES OF NORTH AMERICA.

(October 2006)

LITURGY:

Votum

Psalter 82: 1, 2, 3

Confession of Faith

Psalter 48: 1, 3

Scripture Reading: Ruth 2

Text: Ruth 2 : 12

Congregational Prayer

Offerings

Psalter 388: 1, 3, 4

Sermon

Psalter 91: 1,3,5

Thanksgiving Prayer

Psalter 100: 2, 4

Doxology: Psalter 134

Congregation,

Our theme for the sermon is:

Shelter under the wings of God:

1. Revealed under His wings

2. Sought for by Ruth

3. Granted by Boaz

Do you feel secure? That is my first question in this sermon. Do you really feel secure? In our times this question is very important and relevant. Statistical surveys are conducted very often to see if people feel secure. Especially this is so in the big cities where there are dark alleys; some even off limits, because teen gangs have taken control of the area. People are asking for more police presence on the streets, and more street lights. Feeling secure is very important! No one wants to walk on the streets with their hearts beating anxiously, because they are afraid of sudden violence occurring right behind us or done to us. Would you want someone to come and jump upon you with the intent to hurt you? What a privilege it is to live in a neighborhood where you can feel secure and don’t need to be afraid?

But there is something more important than feeling secure; that is to feel safe and to have a refuge. I can feel very secure, but I still lack a place of refuge. We all need a place where we can be ourselves. I need someone on whose shoulder I can cry. I need someone who will always be there for me, someone whom I can trust in all circumstances of my life. I also need someone to whom I can confess the sins, hidden sins that I have done. Blessed are you, when you are not only secure in your neighborhood and in your home, but when you have a refuge, a hiding place.

That is the focus of the history of Ruth, the Moabite woman, who is not only looking for security but also for finding a refuge and shelter. We all know her from the Bible. She is a poor woman living in a foreign country. She is not only looking for someone who can

give her a new future as a woman, but especially someone who will accept her for who she is. As a heathen woman, she is yearning for someone with whom she can be herself, with whom she can let down her guard. She is looking for someone who will accept her totally for who she is. In a beautiful way this is revealed in this portion of scripture. In chapter 2:12 it states, “under whose wings thou art come to trust.” Ruth came there to seek refuge.

In the Book of Psalms, we read about shelter and about wings. In Psalm 17:8, the psalmist writes “keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me under the shadow of thy wings,” and Psalm 57:1 we read “be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge”. We are also reminded of words that the Lord Jesus spoke, namely, Luke 13: 34,” O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”

Here it becomes very clear what is meant by the expression,” shelter under the wings”. A mother chicken protects her small and vulnerable chicks under her wings. As a matter of fact, a lot of birds do so! In the first place the chicks are safe under these wings, safe from all kinds of dangers from the outside. With her own body, the mother bird protects her brood. Secondly, and that is also important, the chicks feel the warmth, the mother warmth. They are nicely warmed thereby, since they do not have many feathers. The mother warmth gives the young chicks the feeling that they are safe. This is also true for our children. This warm contact with the mother is very important. The feeling of security and safety already begins before birth. Even after the birth it is very important, for the child needs to be loved, and the child needs the mother warmth to be reminded of it. Not because it is so handsome, or so intelligent, but because it is a helpless babe. A child who lacks this security often faces many problems when it becomes older. We all need a place where we can feel safe and secure, even when we get older. We seek it with a boy friend or girl friend, our husband or with our wife. We all look for someone who will take us “under his or her wings”. We all look for someone who not only protects us

against dangers, but someone who can give us that warm feeling of being safe, and standing by me when I need him or her, someone with whom I can show my weakness, someone with whom I need not to prove myself, but who will accept me in all circumstances and conditions. This type of security, this kind of feeling safe is only to be found in the God of Israel.

He is far greater than the best friend on earth. He can make me feel totally safe. Like a hen gathers her brood under her wings, so God is willing to cover people under His divine wings.

Who are these people whom the Lord is willing to take under His wings? Who may shelter under the wings of God? Who are invited here to come for shelter? Are they holy people? Are they people with a very strong faith? NO. They are those who seek protection from Him. Anyone who flees to Him! They are fallen sinners who have guilt and sin, people with a ruined life caused by self-willed sin, who are looked down by others. The Lord with His wings, under which He can protect poor, helpless sinners, doesn’t ask what we can bring to Him. Are you holy and do you have a perfect exemplary faith? He only asks, “What do you need!” What do you stand in need of?

I started my sermon with the question,” do you feel secure?” but now I have another question. Do you have a place under the wings of God? Or, are you still missing much of this warmth and affection? Did your parents perhaps raise you without love? Or, perhaps you did indeed receive this love and affection, but you are hurting by what has happened in your life. Is there someone here who feels lonely, sinful, guilty, unhappy and rejected by many people, well, the Lord has a special message for you. He is willing not only to accept you for who you are, but also to spread His holy wings over you. He is willing to spread His wings over you with all your problems, your sins, your questions. Because He is willing to spread His wings over you, He had to give His only Son, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself the guilt and sin of His people. Jesus went to the cross. Jesus left the safe protection of the house of His Father; He left the

safe, warm protection under the wings of the Lord. On the cross he cried, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” This is the cry of the Son of God. So He made room for sinners, for those who miss everything here below, to draw them to flee under the wings. He made room by going to the cross. He made room by descending into hell. He made room for you, sinner, and for me. The place under the wings has been earned by the Savior. The question is “do I seek safety there?”

For to feel really safe and secure you should not only believe that God exists, and that He is in heaven, but you must also flee to Him, drawn by the Lord Himself to take refuge with Him. What do you reply to this all important question? Perhaps you dare not shelter under these wings. When you look at yourself, you think, “who am I to dare take shelter under these holy wings.” I am too young or I am too old. I am not worthy to come to Him. I am too sinful. I have sinned too long. But, who makes you think these thoughts? Who has put these thoughts into your heart? The Holy Spirit? NO, surely NOT. The Holy Spirit is willing to bring you under His wings. The Holy Spirit is knocking at the door of your heart. Cry unto the Lord, if He will enter into your heart. There is a place with Him. There is room under His wings. You may come for the first time or by renewal. You may also come back, you back sliders! Like the father of the prodigal son, who was standing and looking for his son, so the Lord is waiting, for poor, guilty, helpless sinners, to apply to Him for safely. His wings are opened and He saves to the uttermost. He says, “Come to Me!”

Let us turn back to Ruth. She has acted upon the invitation, for we read, “under whose wings thou art come to trust.” Most of us will know the history of Ruth. She had a difficult life, hadn’t she? She was married to a foreigner, and before she had any children, her husband died. There were no social benefits, no services at that time, and then she decided to go with her mother-in-law. Where? To the unknown country of Israel. She is away from the house of her father and mother, and therefore without the protection of her family. Why did she do so?

Look with me to Ruth 1:16, where we read, “And Ruth said, “Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:” Her settlement is a matter of faith! She has come to believe and trust that the Lord God will care for her. But how? She did not know!

I think, congregation, that this is a mark of true faith! True faith does not always see how the way will be opened, but the Holy Spirit gave her to trust with all her heart that the Lord would make all things well. She trusts that the Lord will also do so in the foreign and unknown country of Israel.

Therefore, Boaz in vs. 12 describes Ruth, this way,” under whose wings thou art come to trust.” Ruth is more than an asylum seeker; she is a seeker of the God of Israel. Ruth is searching, she is searching for a new way to make a living, she is looking for security, but she is actually searching for safety by taking refuge under the wings of God. And, like Ruth, there are so many vulnerable people who perhaps are also looking and searching for refuge. There are widows who have lost their beloved husbands, there are women who are forsaken by their husbands, there are single people living by themselves, and people in the hospital worrying about their health. There are so many vulnerable people outside the church but alas also inside the church. Are you one of them?

But on the other hand, it may be that outwardly you seem rather blessed and secure. But are you still searching and seeking? Perhaps that is your life! You are happily married and yet, you are not really happy. You feel an emptiness within which no one can fill. You are searching for a refuge, which not even your best friend can give you. A refuge that can give you a total feeling of safety, even when death draws near. That is a secure confidence that you have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. What about you? Personally speaking, are you seeking?

Is there someone who says, “Really, I’m not searching”. Why would I? I have loving parents, a loving husband, a loving wife, and really, I feel completely safe. On Sunday, I go to church, so everything is just fine with me. But, Satan can also give you a sense of security, which is a false sense of security. He makes you believe that everything is o.k. for eternity. Why worry? Everything is good with the relationship to God. But, it is not true! For Satan does not want you to flee to the Lord with empty hands. He dislikes that! Satan hates to see sinners fleeing to the Lord, to shelter under the wings. Satan would rather see you as a regular church attendant just fulfilling your duties, rather than as a poor sinner seeking refuge under God’s wings. Satan is going around those wings to see if anyone is coming and then tries by many tricks to stop the seeker. He uses many things, devices and tricks, not only by giving us a false sense of security, but also deceives us by telling us that we are too bad to come, too depraved in the eyes of God. Satan tells us that there is room under those holy wings for other people, holy people, but not for you. My guilt is too great, my faith is too small, or he may say that first I must know that I am born again, that I must first know the time and the place where I was born again before I may flee under these wings.

Congregation, are you aware that where the Lord opens His wings, Satan is doing everything to hinder you from coming. Is that the reason that you dare not flee to take refuge under His wings? Is that the reason that you still live where the cold winds blow in the condition of not being reconciled with God? Is that the reason that your heart has not found rest wherever you go? Do not believe Satan, even when he comes with texts from the Bible.

If a heathen woman from Moab could find a place under the Lord’s wings, would it be impossible for you? It is Satan who keeps you away from these uncovered wings of the Lord. He wants you and me to be like Ophrah, Ruth’s sister-in-law, and remain in your own country; the country, where you were born, the country of Moab, in your unconverted state. He tells you to be happy there, because the country of Naomi is far too difficult. A strange language, and many more reasonings. Just be happy in Moab!

Find a good job, and get happily married. Then your life is good, right? Many people go along with Naomi and Ruth for awhile, they love Naomi, they love Ruth, and also God. They want to be saved that is for sure but in their own way and on their own terms. They walk with the true believer but half way the journey they leave for the world, their own home. They are interested in faith, yes, but when they have to leave ALL, and their own securities they drop out. They finally find their refuge in this life, in the country of Moab with a loving husband, or wife and a cozy family. Added to that they get a good job! Those are the only wings under which they have their shelter. That is the tragedy of many today! They have a lot, but living without the Lord, without the wings of the Lord. Without these wings we can never find real safety and refuge. All human wings under which we may try to take refuge are insufficient when the Great Day of the Lord comes. Human wings cannot protect us in that Day, so pray that the Holy Spirit may lead you out of Moab and bring you under the wings of God. There is room enough under these wings! Room made by the Son of God.

This safety that is granted by the Lord alone here is granted by Boaz. The God of Israel, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ grants Ruth the Moabitish woman, true refuge, and Boaz is a means in His hands. Boaz appears on the scene, he is a kinsman-redeemer. Provision was made in the law of Moses for the poor. The poor were sometimes forced to sell part of their property or forced to sell themselves into slavery. The nearest family member of the kin could step in and buy back the relative who had sold himself. If a family member died without a son, the kinsman gave his name to the poor family member, and married the widow for the purpose of bearing a son. But not every kinsman was willing to perform this duty. The nearest one in the story of Ruth is willing to buy back the property but is not willing to marry Ruth. Boaz is a true kinsman redeemer, such as the Lord had intended it. He reflex the countenance of the God of Israel, yes, even more than that, he shows the likeness of the Messiah, who was to come in this world. He takes pity on this poor broken woman, he grants her refuge, the feeling to be safe and secure with God as he has promised. And how does Boaz do this?

Well, congregation let us see how he proceeds. First, he speaks to her, and urges her to stay in this field. She is even allowed to eat and drink with Boaz, and he orders his servants to pull out some stalks from the sheaves and leave them for Ruth to glean. The result is that Ruth increasingly finds more to glean in this field. She is getting happier. Later, the wonderful event, the event that Boaz marries Ruth, and she becomes a happy mother. Ruth receives a place in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ruth’s child, Obed, becomes the grandfather of David. So the name of Ruth receives a place in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. This is the way that the Lord deals with people who seek Him, also today.

He doesn’t always come to you, and say “here am I”. “I am the bridegroom and you are my bride. NO. He draws them to more and more search His word. And in the field of the word, they begin to find the promises and to attend to them. It is the Lord who urges them to remain in the field of His word, oh that field, there is so much to eat and drink there for a poor woman. Such poor ones like Ruth begin to find the Lord who has already seen them.

There comes a time when you are reading, searching and seeking that you may hear His voice speaking to you personally. Then we are allowed to eat and drink with Him and soon the time comes for the marriage feast. The Lord is the Bridegroom and I may be His Bride. The time comes when the soul may say, “He is mine and I am His”.

Maybe you complain that you never find anything in the word. I never hear the voice of the Lord. But where are you looking and searching? Are you in the field of the word? Or did you choose another field? Are you as humble as Ruth?

Some people have the idea that if they search in the word, and seek the Lord that it becomes an automatic thing that the Lord will speak to them and say, “I am the Bridegroom”. But be humble, humble like Ruth who had to bow down to glean what was on the ground. Be thankful for this, and then you will experience that you will find much

more. Keep searching in the field of His word. Keep laying hold of the promises for surely, there we will meet Him who is greater than Boaz, the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is good to remember that God works through people. Boaz is a means in His holy hand, he is the likeness of the Messiah, but he is also the example of how the Lord wants us to live and to act. Cain said,” Am I my brother’s keeper?” That is the spirit of the times, especially today, but those who live in the field of the word will have a sharp eye and a loving heart for people who are lost, who feel lost.

I am not in the place of God, but sometimes it pleases the Lord to use my voice to speak to them, to use my hands to help them, to show others the way to the wings of the Lord. Sometimes the Lord uses our hands for our fellow human beings; He uses our invitation to those who are without comfort by opening our heart for him or her. What is the reason that we have so little concern for others? Is that not a sign of spiritual poverty? We church people are often not in our place, at least, not in the place we ought to be. Are we often not busy with worldly matters? We should be more in the field of the word. It is there that the child of God displays the features of Boaz showing others the way to the Messiah, and the mercy of God.

The wings of God are still spread out. Ruth received a place under these wings. Outside these wings there is only death. Therefore, come, whoever you are, whatever sins you have committed, flee to Him, tomorrow it could be too late for you. The wings are uncovered; there is a place for you, paid for by the blood of Christ. Are you desirous? Whoever comes to Him for safety will not be cast off. AMEN.

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